"Hey treb, any reason not to leave a crisp square edge on solid surface?"

You can do it, but it's going to chip depending on lifestyle. I'd have the fabricator "break" the edge with a sander if a 1/16" radius is too much.

Ob2b! My house was built in 1963, it's a center hall colonial revival with mid century touches everywhere. I want to keep it simple, stick with slab doors, painted cabinets, very little crown. I like the cleanness of the look of thin counters, I'm a little concerned not to make it too full-on modern, but it's such a cool look, I think.

Thanks treb. I didn't realize corian could chip!

Weez, resale is always an important consideration, but I feel that if the kitchen is beautiful and functional, details like counter thickness won't matter that much. I hope I'm right.

Shay, thanks for weighing in. I'm going to take another look at Neolith. It might be just the thing.

2 cm is the norm for slabs where I live. In my kitchen I have a built-up edge, but I went with as-is in the bathroom. I like the look.

Thanks linelle. Pretty vanity.

Your second image reminds me of the Paperstone sample I've been beating up for the last couple of years. The guy who started Paperstone left and made a new recyclable countertop, but I cant remember what it's made from.

I like the thin tops too.

Interesting, Iowa. I know there's another brand of paper stone that uses a clear resin that allows lighter colors. I'm glad I'm not the only one that likes these tops.

I prefer thin for my current house. But the Miele cooktop I want asks for a 1 1/8" countertop thickness....

Corian goes that thin, and i think really works with that modernist sleek style. We did a white lacquer ikea kitchen, with semi handmade walnut cabinets in the island. Marble on the perimeter and pure white corian with the walnut cabs, waterfall on both sides, in the island. I specifically wanted corian and not quartz because i wanted to channel a more mid-century look, which the thin corian really accomplishes given its matte finish. It looks pretty spectacular. BUT (big but) my plan all along was for 1 cm or so thick counters on the island, and we were out of town when my contractor was handling the measuring appointment, and it totally slipped my mind to say anything. Like, in my own mind it was a settled fact that we were getting 1cm so it wasn't on my to-do list! Anyhow, i got home and had a 3cm countertop! My own fault, and everyone says it looks great, but it looks a little 2011 to me and less 2015. Oh well - live and learn!

Interesting that thin counters are associated with a more modern look to some people - to me they have a simple, somewhat old fashioned cottage feel - maybe that varies with the counter material?

Thin countertops started popping up as a new trend a couple years ago, just like the double thickness countertops were 8 years ago. If you google "1cm corian countertop" and look at the google images, everything that comes up is very modern and current.

It's popular in Europe (Germany, Scandinavia, Italy), where overall kitchens seem more streamlined.

Jmarino, I hadn't thought about my cooktop! I'm keeping the one I have till it goes on to its reward. I have to check the specs!

H2O2, I'm glad to know that you think the look would be appropriate for mid century vibe. I would love to see pics even though it's thicker than intended. It sounds like a beautiful space.

dlm, maybe the feel does change with the material.

no, I think you are right, and that the first companies to go with the trend are European brands as well.

Thanks everyone, for letting me think aloud and use your brains!

My kitchen with the 2cm Kirkstone that I posted above was done in 1992 - guess I was way ahead of the trend ;-)

Eam44, please report back on your decision. I cursed aloud in the middle of the night when I read the cooktop installation specs. Of course, there seem to be a lot of Miele cooktops featured in those modern sleek, thin countertop kitchens.... Just saying.

DLM, ahead of the curve indeed!

Jmarino, I promise to let you all know. And at the glacial pace I am progressing, who knows? Maybe my cooktop will have to be replaced... ;) by the way, if I remember correctly, those sinks in my image are flush mount (!!!!!!!) blankos designed specifically for this type of installation.

It's not exactly the same look, but if you end up having to use a thicker material, you could try a reverse bevel edge.

Additional Reverse Bevel images...

DIY, I love that!! Thank you!

If you need the thickness for a cooktop, etc., undercut the edge to make it look thin without sacrificing the strength of a thicker countertop.

Like this:

Some material may be too fragile for this treatment, but it works with Corian and Cambria.

Thank you Starcraft !

When we did our kitchen two years ago, I too wanted a thin counter. My house was built in 1980 and has a bit of a mid-century vibe.

In the end, we decided to go with black galaxy granite and had it fabricated with a reverse bevel, as shown in photos up-thread. It's difficult to see the counter profile in the photos below, but the edge looks just like the photos posted by DIY2. I love the granite. I love the reverse bevel. The whole look is just what I wanted. But, it does chip on the sharp edges. It's not noticeable to anyone but me, but the chips are there. Just a warning, if you think that small chips would bother you.

Zack, I was wondering about chips. Thanks. The images are beautiful. You must be thrilled with your kitchen.

This is a great option. Thank you much for sharing.

My counters are black walnut, and I did not want then to look like butcher's blocks, so I had them made thin!

Spring, that's cool. How are they holding up?

I suggested no built-up edge to a Corian recycle customer today and she liked the cost savings. I thought of this thread. Pics tomorrow.

DLM2000, I love your kitchen counters and especially that little backsplash!

Someone on here 2-3 years ago did a thin, inch tall splash; IIRC she had to convince her fabricator to get that. Such flexibility in fabrication hasn't reached my area yet, at least not in the price range I was working with.

Treb, I look forward to seeing the pics!

Wow! Beautiful Treb! I never considered the possibility of a cost savings. Whoopee for me! Pity she didn't try to spruce up the cabinets a bit first...

that looks great. I've seen elsewhere of a thin stone or steel countertop on the perimeter and a really thick butcher block on an island.

I meant to post this in response to some requests last week. The first pic is my island which is corian pure white in 1.5 inches on semihandmade walnut cabs with ikea white cabs in the background. Read my post above where I intended to get super thin but it totally slipped my mind to tell my contractor and so, oh well, here it is! A thick white countertop! The messy fridge behind sort of minimizes the minimalist mid century thing I have going but you get the idea. Second pic is the aesthetic I was aiming for in my kitchen - that pic is my master vanity which is a repurposed mid century credenza with the same corian white countertop in, I believe, half an inch. I love it and it's one of the things people always comment about when they visit. I think it really conveys the mid century vibe you can achieve with thin countertops.

Iowa, you're right, I don't see any reason the two can't mix.

H2O2 how beautiful! I love the vanity, and your kitchen is wonderful. Thanks for the images!

Eam44, what did you decide?I have okite Quartz white in the kitchen now in somewhat thin. They were installed a few yrs ago and I can't remember why I didn't go thinner. There are a couple of chips on the edge and the seam isn't the best. I am looking at thin caesarstone pure white for my countertops in my bathroom and laundry room remodel. I am halfway thinking of replacing them with thinner countertops when I do the laundry room and master bath, but not sure I need to.

rockybird, is that a 1 inch edge counter? We are also going thin on ours, and I'm debating between 1 inch and half an inch.

I'm thinking thin Corian, but I haven't made a decision yet

Pipdog, I'm measuring 5/8 or 3/4. I would actually like an even thinner counter!

What I consider to be a "thin" counter top is something that is under the standard slab thickness of 3/4" (2cm). A 3/4" edge detail is just merely a single slab with no build up detail. 1/2" (1.2cm) is probably the most common thin "Euro-style" edge detail. Corian, Stilestone ,Dekton, Neolith and others come in that thickness. There are some thinner options like 3/8" or less and 1/4" solid stainless steel is being used a lot in Europe recently but gets costly due to the surface preparation involved. That said for this to work well the rest of the kitchen has to support the look. I believe the comment above regarding the Miele cooktop is not accurate. They may be referring to the total sub support and not the counter top alone. I've done many thin counter tops with various cooktops and there are ways to support them. You can also achieve this look with different fabrication methods like stepped or mitered edge.

I'm getting a silestone (quartz) countertop in 12mm thickness. I love the look however lead time is 8-10 weeks . anyone have any experience with 12mm quartz countertops? issues with chipping? I have a 3/4" Caesarstone countertop and have been very happy with it.. no chips in over a year.

I'd make sure 7/16" Silestone is recommended for horizontal applications. I can't find anything in their literature.

YOU can’t find anything in the literature? Crumbs.

I see the 12mm used all the time in the high-end Euro showrooms here in Los Angeles. I will be using it soon on a project. I always build my cabinets with full 3/4" tops so there is plenty of support. That would be the only issue I would be concerned about. Supporting it properly.

thanks jdesign.
corlett: there is actually and I've spoken with silestone.. they do recommend 12mm for countertops with thinner profiles. I was just wondering how they are performing in real life application.

We were talking about this two years ago. Talk about being ahead of trend!

So when you get a thin countertop, is it lower than the standard 36" high? (I personally wouldn't mind this, being 5'1", but I am wondering if the non-standard height influences other considerations when constructing the kitchen.)

Katie:

That depends on the planning of the kitchen designer. If she knew the tops were going to be 2cm, she could have the cabinets shimmed 3/4" and the shims covered at the toe kick, so the 2cm tops would be at 36".

I want Corian without the built-up edge and the issue of total height is sticking with me. Does anyone know if the legs that Ikea or Scherr's uses are adjustable enough to bring the counter to 36? I'm afraid that the plinth will have a gap if we shim but maybe Scherr's would accommodate this. Are there any hidden consequences with a countertop that's a bit lower? We're not a tall family so the height would be fine for us and DH and I plan to age in place (we're 48).

The bathroom vanity (using kitchen cabs) would be at a nice height for us and we don't have to worry about integrating other cabs/appliances/etc., in there.

Hot melt some blocking to the bottom of the legs if they're not long enough.

But then I'd have to get taller pieces for the toe-kick, right? Trying to weigh which is more cost-effective or inconvenient.